Carolyn Cooke

Don't get me wrong, good solid writing here, and clarity too but every single one of these short stories was awful. I was left with a sad sense that no one really cared for others in this world, and that they were all living the sorry lives that discover the grass is not greener on the other side, or still yearning for the 'courage' to leap with the sincere belief that life would be all daisies if they could. Awful. Depressing. Not quite soul-sucking, but on it's way.

This would be a good book for a book club. I would enjoy discussing the book's perspective on feminism, class, power and patriarchy, which I appreciate as being powerful and well-done. Reading it by myself I wasn't able to grasp the full depth of it. There is a lot of symbolism that I did not fully grasp, such as the odd names of all the characters and what that meant.

The characters largely depressed me, except for Carole, who I found fascinating and of a unique perspective. I was annoyed at show more times by the fact that the main character seemed to be the man, Goddard (aka God), but recognize that was part of the point, ie he represented patriarchy.

Good book for feminist and class courses or study groups.

Also, I thought it was too short; the characters seemed too simple and concise. show less

The nine short stories all share depressing, desolate characters with an underlying theme of death. Excellent character buildup, but overall I found the stories anything but uplifting.

I was drawn to this novel because of the book's good reviews and its purported story of the first female student at a New England prep school. While I greatly enjoyed reading some of the paragraphs in this novel, I agree that the chapters each seem more like short stories. The "plot",as it were, is unsatisfying and the pleasure of reading Carolyn Cooke's words and phrases can't make up for the lack of good story well-told. I look forward to the author's growth as a writer because, although show more this novel failed me, the intelligent and evocative prose paired with a well-conceived and paced plot could be a wonder to read. I have my fingers crossed. show less